Loblolly pine tree named &#39;CF Q3802&#39;

ABSTRACT

A new and distinctive variety of a loblolly pine tree which has been denominated varietally as ‘CF Q3802’ which is distinguished by distinctive genetic fingerprint, high resistance to fusiform rust, outstanding stem straightness, long internodes and distinctive narrow crown with slender branches, and extremely fast growth.

LATIN NAME

Pinus taeda

VARIETY DENOMINATION

CF Q3802

BACKGROUND

A new variety of loblolly pine tree (Pinus taeda), has been discovered. This selection has been designated as CF Q3802.

This new variety is a progeny of a second generation selection pollinated by a first generation selection. Female parent is an open pollinated progeny of Georgetown County, South Carolina first generation selection. Male parent is a first generation selection made in Barnwell County, South Carolina.

Cross pollination occurred in early 1997 followed by induction and cryopreservation of embryogenic tissue in 1998. First somatic seedlings were produced in 1999 and planted in early 2000 in seven field experiments. A total of 56 ramets were planted ranging from five to eleven ramets per field experiment. Additional ramets were produced and planted in 2001 (22 ramets in six field experiments) and in 2002 (48 ramets in six field experiments). The field experiments are located in Mississippi, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A new and distinct cultivar of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) is distinctly characterized by great resistance to fusiform rust, superior growth and outstanding stem straightness, long internodes and distinctive narrow crown with slender branches, and which is mature for commercial harvesting sooner than conventionally grown trees under the ecological conditions prevailing in the Piedmont, Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains, and Mid-Continent regions of the United States.

The Pinus taeda plants of this variety were asexually propagated using an advanced form of micropopagation called somatic embryogenesis carried out at CellFor's production facility in Victoria, Canada. Somatic embryogenesis uses a complex process which relies on the splitting of one embryo into many identical embryos. Somatic embryos can then be grown into plants which are all identical genetically. The asexual propagation occurs at an earlier stage in the plant's life cycle than most other micropropagated plants. The detailed methods for somatic embryogenesis used for asexually propagating conifers in general are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,372,496 and for loblolly pine in particular in US Patent Application 2004/0203150.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a photograph showing CF Q3802 (to the right), at age 5 in Brewer, Miss., with a low number of whorls, narrow crown, and stem straightness, when compared to the tree to the left.

FIG. 2 is a photograph showing CF Q3802, at age 5 in Brewer, Miss., with low number of whorls and slender branches.

FIG. 3 is a photograph showing CF Q3802, at age 3 in Shubuta, Miss., with low number of whorls, stem straightness, and average to steep branch angle.

FIG. 4 is a combination of two photographs, with an open-pollinated loblolly pine (checklot 7-56) at left and CF Q3802 at right, showing the straight, single-stemmed nature of CF Q3802, which has a forking rate of 8%, while the open-pollinated loblolly pine tree has a forking rate in excess of 20%.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

-   The botanical details of this new and distinct variety of loblolly     pine tree follow:     -   -   Leaf.—Evergreen needles, 6 to 9 inches long, with (usually)             three yellow-green needles per fascicle.         -   Flower.—Monoecious; males long cylindrical, red to yellow,             in clusters at branch tips; females yellow to purple.         -   Fruit.—Ovoid to cylindrical, 3 to 6 inch red-brown cones;             umbo is armed with a short spine, maturing in early fall.         -   Twig.—Orange-brown in color, fine to moderately stout; buds             are narrowly ovoid, light reddish brown.         -   Bark.—Initially red- to gray-brown and scaly; older trees             are ridged and furrowed, with somewhat rounded scaly plates;             very old trees have red-brown, flat scaly plates.         -   Form.—A medium to large tree can reach well over 100 feet             tall, self-prunes well and develops a fairly straight trunk             and an oval, somewhat open crown. Compared to unimproved             loblolly pine trees, ‘CF Q3802’ is characterized by superior             growth, great resistance to fusiform rust (caused by             Cronartium quercuum (Berk.) Miyabe ex Shirai f. sp.             fusiforme (Cumm.) Burds. et Snow), outstanding stem             straightness, long internodes, distinctive narrow crown with             slender branches, and low incidence of forking.         -   Average height.—27.8 ft after five field growing seasons.         -   Maximum height.—36.4 ft after five field growing seasons.         -   Average diameter at breast height.—4.7 inches after five             field growing seasons.         -   Maximum diameter at breast height.—6.0 inches after five             field growing seasons.         -   Height genetic gain above unimproved trees.—43%.         -   Percent stem forking.—8.         -   Percent of test trees with ramicorn branches.—0.         -   Percent stem fusiform rust field infection.—0.         -   Percent branch fusiform rust field infection.—0.         -   Percent branch and stem fusiform rust field infection.—0.         -   Percent dead ramets due to fusiform rust field infection.—0.         -   Percent stem fusiform rust infection in the USDA Resistance             Screening Center (Asheville, N.C.) tests after artificial             inoculation with rust spores.—2.8 (compared to 75.7%             infection in unimproved seedlings).         -   Stem form.—very straight.         -   Branch angle.—average to steep.         -   Branch diameter.—small.         -   Number of major whorls.—few.         -   Live crown width.—narrow.         -   Crown vigor.—average.         -   Propagation.—propagated by somatic embryogenesis.         -   Use.—high yield industrial plantations.

Genetic Method of Identification

Microsatellite markers (or SSRs) were used to generate unique DNA profiles (fingerprints) for each genotype produced through somatic embryogenesis, and respective parents. The fingerprint profiles can be used to distinguish between different genotypes. Ten primer pairs (available in public domain; Auckland, L, Bui, T., Zhou, Y., Shepherd, M., and Williams, C. Conifer Microsatellite Handbook; Texas A&M University, College Station, Tex., 2002) were selected as these primer pairs give unique alleles, distinguishable not only from between families, but also within the family of the lines available. Sequences and conditions of SSR primers used in loblolly pine are shown in Table 1. TABLE 1 Sequences and conditions of SSR primers currently used in loblolly pine. LABEL TAIL (F/R); PRIMER E (end MgCl₂ Tm Size NAME SEQUENCE (5′-3′) labeled) (mM) (° C.) (bp) LOP11 CCAGAAGGCTATAGTACA F 3.0 59 280 C; Reverse: CAACAA TACAAGTAGCAATAC PtTx GCC TTT AGA TGA R 5 55 200 2037 ATG AAC CAA; Reverse: GGA TAA CAA TTT CAC ACA GGT AAG CGG GAT ATT ATA GAG TTT PtTx CAC GAC GTT GTA F 2.5 59 200 2146 AAA CGA CCT GGGGAT TTG GAT TGG GTA TTT G; Reverse: ATA TTT TCC TTG CCC CTT CGA GAC A PtTx AAT TTG GGT GTA R 2.5 54 205 3011 TTT TTC TTA GA; Reverse: GGA TAA CAA TTT CAC ACA GGA AAA GTT GAA GGA GTT GGT GAT C PtTx TTC ATC CTA GCT E 1.5 55 471 3021 GCT TGC TTT; Reverse: CTC AGC GTC TAC CCC ATC AA PtTx CAC GAC GTT GTA F 1.5 55 225 3034 AAA CGA C TC AAA ATG CAA AAG ACG; Reverse: ATT AGG ACT GGG GAT GAT PtTx CAC GAC GTT GTA E 4 59 144 3037 AAA CGA C; Reverse: AAG TCA CTT AAT GCA ATA TGT A PtTx GAA GTG ATA ATG R 3 55 330 3049 GCA TAG CAA AAT; Reverse: GGA TAA CAA TTT CAC ACA GGC AGA CCC GTG AAA GTA ATA AAC AT PtTx TGT CGG TGG AGT R 2 59 280 3105 TGG CAG TAG ACT; Reverse: GGA TAA CAA TTT CAC AC AGG GCC CAG CGT TTC CTG PtTx CAC GAC GTT GTA F 2.5 59 165 3116 AAA CGA CCT CCC AAA GCC TAA AGA AT; Reverse: CAT ACA AGG CCT TAT CTT ACA GAA PtTx TG CAT TCA CCT TGG E 3 55 179 4054 AGT T; Reverse: TAG GAG ATA ATA TAA AAT GTT SSR Analyses

1. DNA was isolated from germinant epicotyl tissue (or young needles in the case of parent material) (˜100 mg) using Qiagen's DNeasy Plant Mini Kit and the Mixer Mill MM 300, as per manufacturer's specifications.

2. DNA was isolated from one line at a time in order to avoid any possible mix-ups or contamination with other lines.

3. DNA was quantified using a spectrophotometer and also quantified visually on agarose gels.

4. DNA was diluted to ca. 10 ng/μl and once again visually inspected.

5. About 50 ng of DNA was used for each PCR reaction. Reactions were carried out in 96 well trays.

6. SSR primer sequences used were as per Texas A & M University (Auckland L., et al., Conifer Microsatellite Handbook, 2002), with the exception that some have a (M13 sequence) tail added. See Table 1.

7. PCR cycles were as follows:

8. 1 cycle at 94° C.=3 minutes

9. 29 cycles at 94° C.=30 seconds; Tm=30 seconds; 72° C.—1 minute.

10. 1 cycle at 72° C.=5 minutes

11. Hold at 4° C.

12. Upon PCR completion, Stop Dye was added, and samples were denatured at 94° C. for 3 minutes.

13. Approximately 0.5-1.0 μl of each sample was loaded on 6.5% polyacrylamide gels and electrophoresed in a LI-COR 4200 DNA Analyzer. Each gel was scored using LI-COR's SAGA software.

14. Selected seedlings were collected in the greenhouse, and each was immediately placed in labeled 1.5 ml locking tube, and placed on dry ice. Seedlings were collected one clonal line at a time to ensure no clonal line mix-ups occurred during sampling. Upon arrival in the lab, tubes were immersed in liquid nitrogen and then frozen at −80° C. until ready for DNA extraction.

Table 2 shows the allele pairs obtained for 35 genotypes, including ‘CF Q3802’, with the various primer pairs used. The fingerprint profile of ‘CF Q3802’ is unique from the other genotypes. Note that primer pairs were used only on those families where the primer pairs yielded informative data. For example, primer pairs PtTx 3037 and PtTx 4054 had a tendency for allele drop out (nulls) and were therefore not included with every family. From this table, one can see that there is little overlap of allele pairs within the various families (distinguished by a different letter prefix), thus each family has a unique fingerprint. The use of ten polymorphic primers allowed us to generate unique fingerprints for each family, for each line, and to confirm their pedigree. TABLE 2 Alleles obtained per primer set per line. PRIMERS GENOTYPE PtTx 2037 PtTx 2146 PtTx 3011-T PtTx 3021 PtTx 3034 CF A3643 171 199 189 200 177 233 423 447 224 226 CF H3561 167 167 185 187 201 212 444 489 212 225 CFJ3599 166 194 191 198 215 230 447 465 219 220 CFJ3983 166 194 198 209 167 230 447 483 219 220 CF K3357 164 173 192 198 167 248 453 483 219 226 CF K3690 192 198 176 215 465 483 219 226 CF K3973 164 173 194 198 215 248 465 483 219 226 CF L3243 189 207 177 227 447 498 224 224 CF L3477 189 207 177 227 447 498 224 226 CF L3514 189 198 177 227 423 447 224 224 CF L3519 189 198 177 227 447 498 224 226 CF L3522 189 198 177 227 423 432 226 226 CF L3576 189 198 177 227 447 498 224 224 CF L3642 189 207 177 227 447 498 224 226 CF L3663 189 207 177 227 447 498 226 226 CF L3691 189 198 177 227 447 498 224 224 CF L3771 189 198 177 227 447 498 224 226 CF L3789 189 198 177 227 432 498 224 226 CF L3994 189 198 177 227 447 498 224 226 CF N3407 168 215 187 187 167 209 438 489 CF N3455 168 168 184 187 209 221 438 462 CF N3462 168 215 184 187 167 209 438 489 CF N3773 168 215 184 187 209 221 462 483 CF N3812 168 215 184 187 n/a n/a 438 489 CF N3977 n/a n/a 184 187 167 209 438 462 CF N3984 168 215 187 187 167 167 438 462 CF N3993 168 215 184 187 167 167 438 462 CF O3345 177 198 178 227 432 447 CF O3621 177 198 178 227 447 480 CF O3971 195 207 184 227 432 480 CF Q3472 191 199 182 209 167 233 447 564 224 224 CF Q3528 191 199 182 209 167 230 477 477 n/a n/a CF Q3802 171 191 182 194 167 233 477 486 224 227 CF Q3880 191 199 194 200 233 233 477 564 224 227 CF S3672 166 167 209 212 444 462 PRIMERS GENOTYPE PtTx 3037 PtTx 3049 PtTx 3105 PtTx 3116 LOP11 CF A3643 318 320 193 199 148 149 CF H3561 134 164 320 320 190 193 152 158 CFJ3599 320 330 202 220 149 155 CFJ3983 320 330 193 202 149 155 CF K3357 n/a n/a 328 332 196 220 150 183 CF K3690 174 210 326 328 193 220 147 150 CF K3973 142 142 326 332 193 193 150 183 CF L3243 322 328 193 205 150 162 CF L3477 316 324 193 205 150 162 CF L3514 316 324 193 205 150 156 CF L3519 322 328 193 202 150 162 CF L3522 316 324 193 202 147 162 CF L3576 322 328 193 202 147 162 CF L3642 322 328 193 205 147 156 CF L3663 316 324 193 205 150 162 CF L3691 316 324 193 202 147 156 CF L3771 316 324 193 202 147 162 CF L3789 322 328 193 202 150 156 CF L3994 N/A N/A 193 202 150 162 CF N3407 113 137 326 328 193 214 147 164 CF N3455 113 137 328 330 193 202 147 161 CF N3462 113 137 322 326 193 202 147 161 CF N3773 131 140 316 328 193 202 147 152 CF N3812 113 137 328 330 193 202 147 164 CF N3977 131 164 322 330 193 214 147 161 CF N3984 131 164 326 328 n/a n/a 147 164 CF N3993 113 137 328 330 193 202 147 161 CF O3345 202 205 149 157 CF O3621 202 202 149 157 CF O3971 205 217 146 157 CF Q3472 114 150 318 320 196 202 151 151 271 279 CF Q3528 192 192 318 322 193 193 151 160 271 279 CF Q3802 150 192 318 322 193 193 151 160 271 279 CF Q3880 150 192 318 322 193 202 151 160 271 289 CF S3672 147 156 320 326 253 253 152 158

Although the new variety of loblolly pine tree possesses the detailed characteristics noted above as a result of the growing conditions prevailing in the seven test locations, it is to be understood that the variations of the usual magnitude and characteristics incident to changes in growing conditions, irrigation, fertilization, pruning, pest control, climatic variations and the like are to be expected. An example of ‘CF Q3802’ can be found at Plum Creek Glynn Farms year 2000 line trial, Jessup, Ga. 

1. A new and distinct variety of loblolly pine tree named CF Q3802 substantially as described and illustrated. 